BOTTOM LINE
Breakdown
OUR RATING
1.75/5
CENSOR
‘UA’ Certified, 122 Mins.
What Is the Film About?
Arjun (Aadi Saikumar) is a cab driver living a simple and decent life with Adhya, staying away from the respective parents. His life takes a turn when he is unwillingly caught in a whirlwind of drug-related dealings.
Siddharth (Mime Gopi), a dreaded criminal, is in Hyderabad to take out a drugs-filled bag worth crores. A chain of events follows his arrival where people from top to bottom and police are trying to double-cross cross one another. The movie’s primary plot is how Arjun escapes the mess.
Performances
Aadi Saikumar comes up with another film at the end of the year. He has again chosen a different role, but one that offers an opportunity to do action, drama, a little bit of comedy and romance. The latter two get the least priority here.
Aadi is okay as usual, and that is turning out to be a big problem for him. He is sincere in his work and seems to be content with it. The next level push is missing. It is a comfort zone from which he is operating, failing to bring any excitement to the audience. Top Gear is another addition to his decent acts, one that doesn’t spoil the narrative but adds nothing, either.
Riya Suman plays a glorified guest role here. She has a song and is seen in a few scenes, but there is nothing to talk about. Riya goes through the limited sequences without any single promising moment and is forgettable eventually.
Analysis
Shashikanth directs Top Gear. It is a thriller that happens in one night, where events move from one location to another with several twists in between.
Top Gear suffers from amateurish execution. The problem is visible from the start and gets more evident as the narrative progresses. The ambition is to come up with a slick, stylish, and fast-paced action thriller, but they never come to fruition.
Many scenes fall flat due to the poor direction. All the actions between the characters trying to double-cross each other are dealt with poorly. Take the case of a critical moment where a person is trying to take photographs of vital evidence. The whole sequence is (unintentionally) hilarious to look at.
Silly things like the example mentioned earlier take away any tension from the narration. One never feels it until the end. The lack of gripping moments is something a thriller can’t afford.
The entire first half is just a set-up for the interval block where the actual story begins. Here the hero gets the connection to the actual story, and his mission literally begins. It is utterly predictably and flatly done.
The second half comparatively is better as the real twists and turns and thrills lie here. However, the screenplay makes the whole thing looks very formulaic. The way a cab driver goes about the findings lacks the intensity and spark to take one to the edge of the seat.
The emotional thread that is blended in the narrative also doesn’t work. It feels like a necessary add-on that a formula demands rather than developing any feeling.
A twist in the tale towards the climax is decent, but there is no impact. It could have been much better with proper handling.
Overall, Top Gear is a thriller that happens over one night. It offers some twists here and there, but they lack the desired impact due to poor execution. Eventually, it looks like a movie more suited for OTT than a theatrical viewing.
Performances by Others Actors
There are many character artists as part of the plot. Mime Gopi gets a role with powerful buildup, but it gets relegated to the background during the main narrative. Apathy from him, there are Brahmaji, Satyam Rajesh, Narra Srinivas etc., who are wasted with limited presence, and not even half-baked characters.
Music and Other Departments?
If there is anything that stands out in the movie, apart from the few twists, it is the background score by Harshavardhan Rameswar. It is loud but works more than alright to give a racy mood to the proceedings. Sai Sriram’s cinematography is okay at best. Prawin Pudi’s editing is adequate. The background and editing lend a racy feel, but the content and execution let things down. The writing is below par. It is a mere functionary tool to take the narrative forward, adding no depth, drama or fun whatsoever.
Highlights?
Few Twists
BGM
Drawbacks?
Direction
Flat Narration
No Emotional Connect
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
Top Gear Movie Review by M9News
